


O for Owls

by Embli



Series: DC Alphabet Drabbles [15]
Category: DCU
Genre: Court of Owls, Drabble, Gen, Gotham City - Freeform, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26697232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Embli/pseuds/Embli
Summary: On a certain nursery rhyme the people of Gotham tell their children.
Series: DC Alphabet Drabbles [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922716
Kudos: 19





	O for Owls

_Beware The Court of Owls_

Somewhere in Gotham, a tired mother mutters the rhyme over and over to her child.

_That watches all the time_

It’s not a very happy rhyme, but Gotham is not a happy city. And it’s what her own mother used to read to her.

_Ruling Gotham from a shadow perch_

She supposes it’s the kind of thing they need to cope. The story is much older than super villains, but not older than crime or the ugliness of humanity. 

_Behind granite and lime_

This is the kind of city that took someone terrifying like Batman to be their guardian angel. It’s not surprising they might have wanted a protector before him. 

_They watch you at your hearth_

And if a protection is also a threat, well. It’s Gotham. 

_They watch you in your bed_

Besides, it’s for getting children to shut up and go to sleep.

_Speak not a whispered word of them_

No-one actually believes in The Owls. At least no adults. It’s just a story.

_Or they’ll send The Talon for your head_

She presses a kiss to her daughter’s forehead, then starts the rhyme over again. _Please Stephanie, just go to sleep._


End file.
